TRP: Hansel and Raef (Seahorse)
Day 379, after The Island, before Trouble. Hansel tried real fuckin' hard to not be skeeved out by the twin thing and the big guy with the huge scars and no mouth. They were people, or they had been, and maybe could be again, and they were for sure real unhappy about what was going on with'em. He figured he oughta be nice. Luci wasn't fazed. 'Course not. She just tried to keep'em calm without touching them, but one of them was really grabby so Hansel sat for a while and awkwardly let it hold onto him. Seemed to settle it a bit. While the others were gone, though, the eel mermaid came along and whistled for him from the shore, and she told him that Renfield motherfucker was still on the move, burning shit. He thought about that one island where they found the shark ponies. Those things were even less monsters that the grabby scarred-up folks he was here babysitting -- they didn't deserve to fuckin' die. So he asked Leela if she'd try to coax the ponies out into the water, help'em hide when Renfield came along to that island. If she managed to get them over to the southernmost island, he'd watch out for them, too. She agreed to it, and her and the deep sea maid with the big glowing eyes -- Annie -- went off to try it, and he sat uneasily in the shallows with their twisted-up friend until they came back. Half of the little herd had just swum off, they said, but each of'em managed to keep the attention of one apiece to lure down to this island. The ponies seemed to be real curious and scampered off soon as they hit land, checking out the new place. Renfield was gonna show up here, too, though, Hansel considered. He needed to be ready for that. Keep the weird shit safe. . So he made some plans and talked it over with Luci, and they got themselves ready. Tried to talk to the creatures, but didn't know if he was really getting through -- had to do what he had to do either way, though, so he sent'em all out into the water. Leela was still around, and she seemed solid -- stayed with Luci and the things while Hansel searched around for the ponies, again. One of'em wouldn't come with him, but he managed to lure the other with the promise of an unripe banana plucked off a nearby tree. He led it out along with the rest, and they waited. A few gouts of fire blasted around the island, and he heard the barking of Renfield's blink dogs. They ducked under the waves when they had to, holding their breath long as they could, and he peeked up above the surface to check a couple times while Luci pushed water aside with her magic and helped the creatures breathe. Once it was safe, they swam back in. The pony had seemed content enough to stay with them, but once it'd followed them back onto land, it pranced off again. Island smelled like burnt grass and flesh now, and there were chips of glass in the sand. But they were safe. Hansel supposed that was the important thing. - - - Once the others got back, and they all debriefed on what had happened, Hansel went to Raef. Figured Raef was most likely to be on the same page as him. They had to fuckin' track down that pony and get it to stay with'em so it wouldn't get fucking scorched. While the others were resting after their excursion and talking about what to do next, Hansel pulled Raef aside a bit. Felt kinda silly to be worried about the shark critter, what with everything else going on, so he didn't talk too loud. "Hey, hey, chaveri. Y'know those shark pony things, from earlier?" MINK The island was a fuckin' mess. It reminded him not to get on a ship or boat again. At least it was land, but barely. Water surrounded it, monsters ran rampant on it, and there were batshit ladies making the monsters on an island not too far away. And they were going to meet them for dinner. After this, he was going to go get the shears for Anwyll then he was going to go home and not get his ass on a ship ever again. Raef was ready to check on the twin creature, a grabby set of people - it was shitty what happened to them -, and take a nap when Hansel prodded him away from the others. He sighed softly with relief. Fuck, Hansel was good to just be around. He itched to hug him. He tapped a thigh. Hansel wouldn't give a shit. He stepped forward to hook his arms around Hansel's waist and buried his face against Hansel's chest. "...yeah..." Raef answered, quirking an eyebrow at the end even if it couldn't be seen; he hadn't let go yet. Yeah, he liked this."They okay?" Hopefully Renfield didn't blast the happy things. They'd been cute in their weird way. IZZY Hansel made a startled, pleased sound at the abrupt hug, automatically wrapping his arms around Raef's shoulders anyway. Kinda made him feel better, sulking around the island and shooting the ocean distrustful glares with someone. Raef got it. "One of'em," he said, rubbing Raef's back absently. "Couple fucked off into the ocean, fuckin' Renfield got another. Last one's on the island. Was thinkin' maybe we track it down? Try an' keep it safe, y'know." MINK "Dick," Raef muttered. Taking care of the blobs was one thing, but the ponies had done nothing. He wrinkled his nose a little, playing with the hem of Hansel's shirt. "Mm...yeah." He'd wanted to see one up close anyway. They'd not liked him earlier, but Hansel was fuckin' good with animals. It was some druid shit. "Where'd it go?" IZZY "Ain't all sure," Hansel admitted. "Somewhere on th'other side of the island, s'pose. Mighta swum off." If it'd done that, though, they couldn't keep tabs on it. He frowned. "Hopefully not." MINK Raef rolled the hem between his fingers. "Le's go find it," he suggested. He squeezed Hansel before making himself let go. "Before that fucker gets it." Blasting ponies...just wasn't right. IZZY "Aye," Hansel agreed grimly. He rubbed Raef's back more vigorously for a sec, like he was trying to warm him up, before letting him go. Pleased, though, he added, "Knew you'd get it." MINK He almost stayed at the rubbing, but they had a pony to save. He gave Hansel's wrist a squeeze. Grinned. "Come'n. Which direction you wanna go?" IZZY "Fuckin' inland," he said dryly. Wasn't much of an answer, though. He linked his hand with Raef's and caught Luci's eye to send her a look and tilt his head, and she nodded back before he set off. "Critter liked the bananas towards the middle of the island, before. Check there first, maybe." MINK Raef swung their hands lazily, walking along with Hansel. "...it liked bananas..." he repeated. "...it's a shark." IZZY "Aye, but it's a horse," Hansel pointed out. MINK Raef opened his mouth, closed it, and waved his hand through the hair. "It's got teeth." He paused. Horses had teeth. "Pointy teeth." IZZY Well, now, that was a good enough point. "I got pointy teeth," Hansel said, though that wasn't really relevant, considering him not eating meat was more a personal choice. "Maybe the brain bit's a horse, and it ain't got the message about the teeth," he added thoughtfully. MINK Raef's eyebrows shot up, his lips pursing as he fought down a smile. "But you know how to use them." He winked as the smile broke through. IZZY "Psshh." Hansel grinned. Toothily. Was good. A distraction from the fuckin' island, and sea beast, and how he hadn't slept 'cause Goro hadn't slept. Yeah. "Yeah, just on the good stuff, chaveri." MINK Raef grinned back. "Mmhmm. Better than a banana." He squeezed Hansel's hand, tracing his thumb over the back of it, before making himself stop. This was serious. They had a pony to find. He snickered a little. IZZY He snickered, and tried to act all serious and innocent, like they were just talking about regular, normal, completely innocuous bananas. "Aye, lot better," he agreed solemnly. Sorta. Wasn't that great an actor. The island was pretty small, and he wasn't seeing any hoofprints around the little grove of banana trees he'd found before. Shit was kinda fucked up from the fire -- Renfield wasn't fuckin' careful and gentle about his goddam exterminations, Hansel supposed. "Li'l beastie might be on the north beach," he said, hoping. "Heft you up an' you can grab a treat for'im?" MINK Raef chuckled, hand squeezing again. Fuck, this was good. Better than worrying about if he was gonna get eatin' by some fuckin' monster or if they were gonna make it off the island. He glanced up to the bananas. "You're sober, right?" IZZY Hansel snorted. He made a gesture like he was crossing his heart. "This time. Promise. Don't come down from that tree with anything but a banana, though." MINK "If there's somethin' else than bananas up there, I'm swimmin' home." He reached up to Hansel's shoulders. Shit. This was a stupid fuckin' idea, even sober as a rock. IZZY "Might be snakes," Hansel said cheerily, already kneeling and hoisting Raef up. MINK Raef decided against mentioning that Anwyll was a big fuckin' snake. "Don't drop me." He snorted as he was lifted up. He reached up to grab a couple of bananas. He kept an eye for anythin' funny. "How many?" IZZY "Couple oughta do it." He squinted. "Y'know -- I ain't even sure if it ate the banana I was baitin' it with before. Mighta just been playin'." Maybe they did know they were supposed to eat meat. MINK Raef squinted down at Hansel. "Told ya. It's the teeth." He still grabbed a couple of bananas. Just in case. "...got 'em." He leaned down a little to try to lightly drop them because being put down with his hands full seemed like a bad idea. IZZY Hansel knelt back down to let Raef down, making an approving sound as the bananas dropped to the sand. "Nah, nah," he said, just to argue. "Teeth don't matter none. Tellin' ya." MINK Raef slid off, landing lightly, and picked up the bananas. "Uh-huh. Then what matters?" IZZY Hansel tapped the side of his head knowingly. MINK Raef stared. That wasn't...that...he chucked one of the bananas playfully at Hansel. "Smartass." IZZY He snickered, trying to catch the banana but completely fuckin' fumbling it. It bounced off his chest and he had to bend to scoop it back up. "Aye, you fuckin' love it." MINK "Yeah, yeah...I do." Raef chuckled. He did love him, even with his fuckery. "We gotta be serious now. Find a pony and shit." He grinned. Not all seriousness. IZZY "Yeah, yeah," he said amiably. He did wanna keep the freaky shark pony away from fuckin' Renfield, just didn't particularly wanna think about the fucker. He still wasn't finding any goddamn tracks, though, so he just started spiraling out from the grove, keeping an eye out. "That Renfield motherfucker," he said after a moment, spinning the banana around in his hand absently as he looked around. "I'm thinkin', he needs to fuckin' die, right?" MINK Raef couldn't see shit in the sand. He didn't know how anyone tracked anything on a damn island. He'd just follow Hansel instead. "Want me to gut him?" he answered. He would. He didn't like the creepy fucker. IZZY "You go low, I go high?" he suggested. MINK "It's a date." Raef smiled. A good fuckin' date. Kill someone who was murdering innocent people and ponies...and worked for the people responsible. IZZY Hansel made another pleased sound. Murder dates and shit like this were his favorite kind. He was a simple man with simple needs. He scuffed around in the sand for a bit, fuckin' consternated -- did this goddamn pony have wings, too, and he just missed'em? -- before finally finding a trail. Then all the annoyance melted away. "Aw," he said reflexively. "Fuckin' ... look. Look." He pointed out the tracks, and how they were sudden and heavy and scrambling, leading away from some of the large, flattish stones on the island. "Critter was skippin' along on the rocks. Playin' prob'ly. Goddamn adorable." MINK Raef squinted down at the tracks. He could track a rabbit with one leg...but the sand muddied things a little. "'s fuckin' cute," he agreed with a smile at Hansel. He twined their fingers again, following the now pointed out trail. He was slow so they didn't spooky the happy pony on accident. Sand shifted and the grass that butted up against it rustled ahead. He hunched over to be lower to the ground. "Gimme a banana." IZZY Hansel dropped down with him and passed it over. MINK Banana in hand, Raef picked his way over the sand and through the grass, peeking out to see the pony as it munched on something hard - grass or a shell, he couldn't tell. It was pretty in its way. Stocky tan legs, striped, gave way to a stocky body, dotted unlike its legs. It's tail swished through the air (or wagged through it...whatever the fuck a shark tail did). He clicked his tongue, holding out the banana. The pony jerked its rounded head up and it didn't come closer. IZZY The pony seemed a bit alarmed about them being there. Mighta realized the island wasn't all that safe, after all, and gotten spooked before they even showed up. He dropped down low, though, and called to it in a low, gentle voice. "Hey, there, motek. Ain't gonna hurt ya. You remember me, sweetheart? See? We're friends, yeah?" The pony trotted a bit closer, black fish eyes going between Hansel and the fruit Raef was offering. MINK Hansel was some sort of fuckin' wizard with animals. The pony took a tentative step, tail flicking through the air. "C'm'on, it's okay," Raef whispered. He flicked the banana so it landed nearby. The pony stepped a little closer, leaned down, nosed the banana, gave a delicate sort of bite, before looking back up expectantly. Raef smiled and nudged Hansel to give it another banana. Maybe they could get it to come closer through a trail. IZZY Hansel held his grin back, since most animals didn't much like it when you beared your teeth at'em. It took some effort, though. The thing was just so fuckin' weird, and oddly charming for it. He clicked his tongue softly, instead, and held the treat out and backed off just a little, to see if the critter would follow. It shook its head a bit, like it thought it had a mane, and did. Hansel elbowed Raef furiously in excitement. MINK Raef bit his lower lip, trying to be careful of his smile when he was nudged. He squeezed Hansel's knee in response. The pony was slowly following them. "Drop it...let it have a snack," he said as the pony tentatively took another step closer. It stretched its head out, sniffing, or he thought it was sniffing. Did sharks have noses? He didn't fuckin' know. IZZY Hansel did, watching carefully. Good chance the pony would like Raef better, since he was smaller -- less a threat. Who knew, though, if the thing mainly was a prey animal or a predator. Usually that mattered. Either way, though, was better to act all non-threatening and nice. MINK The pony stepped closer. Sniffed. Took a tentative bite again. Raef grinned widely. It was cute in a freaky sort of way. "Come'n, sweetie," he cooed softly, holding out a hand. It stepped closer again. He was damn near vibrating with excitement. It took another step before stretching out its neck to sniff at his hand. Its tail swished. Raef glanced towards Hansel. Shit. Last time the possum hadn't liked him at first. He looked back at the pony. This one had more teeth. He hesitated then finally turned his hand over to pet its leathery snout. IZZY The pony nudged up against Raef's hand, like a dog asking for more pets, and Hansel had to cover his mouth and bite the back of his hand to keep from grinning at it all toothy. It trotted a little closer so they wouldn't have to stretch so much, and he held out his other hand, carefully, and gave it a little scritch on the ... chin? It kinda had a chin. It made a weird sort of huffing, whinnying sound that seemed pleased and closed its eyes. Seemed to be more interested in the attention than the food. MINK Raef's grin softened into a smile when the pony's closed, Hansel scritching it lightly. He took a small step closer so he could stroke up its snout to between its eyes or what was sort've between them. "Good pony," he praised. The pony pressed into his hand and into Hansel's. "Wanna come back with us?" The only answer was a step closer. Raef chuckled. "Too fuckin' cute. Whatdya say, chaveri?" IZZY Hansel tilted his head to check. Sure as fuck couldn't tell with sharks, but that bit was a horse, anyway. "I say we got a new daughter," he said solemnly. MINK "Give those a boys a bit of a mixup." Raef snorted. He slowly stood up so he could pet down the pony's head and neck-area-place. He couldn't tell. It was a spot with a ridge that worked a bit like a neck. "Good girl. We'll keep you safe." IZZY "Yeah," Hansel cooed. "Aww, we can get her back t'the castle and she'll have a big safe lake to swim in, huh? Gonna have our own li'l moat monster. Hopefully no one realizes she's a big softie," he added, finally letting himself grin properly. The thing's sharky face split open like maybe it had a little dog in it, too, and it was grinning back with its big sharp teeth. Hansel snickered. "S'pose we oughts call her?" MINK "Gotta get her a nice comfy stall." Raef kept petting when the pony-shark opened her mouth. Her tail moved again. "Not Fang." Raef winked at Hansel. "What 'bout...Adva?" IZZY "Huh." It made Hansel pause for a second, to get it. Adva. Little ripple. "Ah. Fuck. That's good.". He elbowed Raef gently, giving him a sidelong look and a grin. "Fuckin' ... how come you let me name that possum Fang, then, huh?" MINK Raef arched an eyebrow and playfully poked Hansel in the chest. "Pretty sure I questioned your judgement." IZZY Hansel feigned offense. "Nah, nah. Don't check out. Woulda remembered." Like he completely and totally remembered how they'd ended up with the little critter anyway. Drunk Hansel and Hungover Hansel had the greatest memory. Yup. He gave the pony -- Adva -- ah, he really liked that -- another pat and backed away a bit. She trotted on after him, looking for more attention. Attagirl. MINK "Uh-huh." Raef rolled his eyes. Not that he'd the greatest member, but Fang. Fit well with Uthax and Zarkon. He lazily began to stroke down Adva's back, following her trots. She was happy as hell. "Shitty we can't help her friends." IZZY "Aye." Hansel grimaced. "Well. S'pose we can fucking get revenge, anyhow." He switched to cooing. "How 'bout it, Adva? Y'like some good ol' fashioned revenge? That sound good, motek?" She made another one of those odd sounds. "She does," Hansel decided. "Big fan a' revenge, this girl. Oh, motherfucker -- shit, Raef, I can actually talk to animals," he said, grabbing at Raef's shoulder excitedly. "I fuckin' forgot. Holy shit." MINK "You didn't fuckin' tell me!" Raef grinned widely, grabbing the hand on his shoulder and squeezing. That was fuckin' exciting. He didn't know Hansel could do that. Shit. It was great. "Well talk to her then. Dunno. See what she likes or something." IZZY Hansel nodded enthusiastically. He hadn't actually done the thing -- just knew it was a type of thing druids could do. The Lady said that he couldn't do all the magic druids could do at once, like how clerics had to pray and decide what powers they needed for the day. He didn't know how to do that shit, though. He just kinda hoped real hard. So he frowned as he concentrated, and stroked Adva's neck, trying to make it just kinda ... work. Plucked at the magic around him -- in the grass, the sea, under the sand -- and asked for a favor. Weirdest thing, though. Didn't feel it in Adva. Not like she wasn't alive, just like it wasn't the same as everything else around. He frowned a little more. "Huh," he said, disappointed. "Can't do it. Maybe 'cause she ain't, y'know, really a horse or a shark. Not an ordinary animal." MINK "Oh...damn." Raef grimaced a little. "Still a good girl." He scritched down Adva's back. Her tail flipped in response. He glanced up to Hansel with a smile. "Maybe you just don't speak shark." IZZY "Pffft." Hansel showed Raef his sharp teeth again. If he fuckin' spoke anything, it was probably gonna be shark. MINK Raef snickered. Winked. "Looks more like bear teeth." IZZY "Pffft," Hansel insisted. He'd take bear. He was big and warm and scruffy, after all. "A'right. Next time we fuckin' adopt a bear cub." MINK "Deal." Raef grinned at Hansel. He stepped around him, playfully tugging at his shirt. "I like bears." He let go. "C'm'on. Let's get Adva some food." IZZY Hansel made a pleased sound and wrapped an arm around Raef, letting the other hand rest gently on Adva's back to lead her along, back towards their camp. MINK Raef hooked his arm around Hansel's waist, tucking his fingers into the waist of his pants to make it easier - Hansel was fuckin' big. "Bet she likes fish," he said, glancing towards Adva before up at Hansel. IZZY "Could try fishin'," Hansel said thoughtfully. Might be a nice distraction, for a little bit. "Once we're off this fuckin' island, we can give her all sortsa stuff to try out." MINK "We can go huntin' when we get home," Raef agreed, squeezing Hansel. He couldn't wait to be off that damn island. Then shit could go back to normal and Hansel wouldn't be stuck in a shitty place he didn't like surrounded by water that had gods knew what in it. "Do y'know how to make a fishing pole?" Because he sure as fuck didn't. He and Az would just net them in the stream. IZZY "Yeah, for fuckin' sure. Usually just spearfish, though." He tilted his head back towards the trident visible over his shoulder. MINK Raef waved his free hand, chuckling. "Show off." IZZY Hansel snickered. "Nah, nah. Just you wait. You'll fuckin' know it when I'm showin' off." MINK "...you threatenin' me?" IZZY "Aye," Hansel said solemnly. "With a good fuckin' time." MINK Raef laughed. "You're on, but you gotta show me how to use that." He pointed to the trident. IZZY Hansel grinned at him and messed up his hair. "Pff, you're too fuckin' little. You couldn't handle all this." MINK Raef made a playfully hurt face. "Ouch. My feelings." IZZY "Aww." Hansel kissed his head. "Better?" MINK He held up his fingers a little bit apart and pouted his lower lip. "Jus' a little." IZZY Hansel kept kissing his head diligently. "I oughta get points," he said between them, "for not makin' another joke about little things." MINK "Fuck you." Raef nudged his hand against Hansel's side, nose wrinkling with a smile. He held up two fingers. "You get two points. Mentionin' it deducted a few." IZZY He snickered. "Yeah, a'right, fair." MINK Raef rolled his eyes. "...why do I love you..." He squeezed Hansel, laughing quietly now. "...you gotta show me the trident now." IZZY "Aye, chaveri," Hansel said gamely. "I'll help you hold it." MINK "...watch it..." IZZY Hansel gave him an innocent look. MINK Raef narrowed his eyes back. "...uh-huh..." IZZY Hansel put a hand on his chest, like, who, me? MINK Raef tapped the side of his nose: he knew. Category:Text Roleplay